The invention relates to proximity lighting fixtures from here on in known as staircase illuminators or simply illuminators, and to an illumination system having such illuminators that are working separately or in unison. Such fixtures are needed to illuminate usually dark areas quickly and effortlessly. One of the innovative benefits of the present invention is that the system of devices takes a jiffy to install, is a snap to maintain and is activated through sensory awareness of someone or something moving within a zone monitored by its proximity sensors. The invention relies on wireless communications between one or more units to activate the fixtures, drastically simplifying installation and placement of the units.
The utility of the present invention is primarily during low light conditions, to assist one with middle-the-night trips to the restroom, the refrigerator or to a child's nursery, or to a parent's bedroom. To get to these places, one needs to traverse hallways, stairways, closets, cabinets, and any other dark and shadowy crevices of one's abode. Without light, it is easy to incur and injury or cause a house awaking disturbance when bumping or tripping over an unseen obstacle. At the same time, finding a light switch is not always easy, especially if a light switch is located within the same shadowy and dark area that one needs to traverse. Some try to resolve this problem by turning on the light switch that is closest, such as in their bedroom. Then they move to the nearest light switch in the hallway, and keep going in such mode until they reach their destination. There are many disadvantages to this approach, not the least of them is that the method tends to wake those in the vicinity of the light. This method is time consuming and light switches may still be tough to find. Another disadvantage is that once the light is no longer needed, a person will need to spend additional time turning off these devices individually. These disadvantages are most acute when there is a need to get to the desired location quickly.
The problem has been felt for as long as humans lived in dwellings. Recently, a number of possible solutions entered this area of art. However, the prior art devices still suffer from a number of disadvantages that the present invention addresses. The prior art devices tend to need complex installations aimed at enabling them to be powered from the main power line. Some of the existing devices work in concert by being wired in a series rather than by using radio or infrared wireless communication as in the present invention. Additionally, such wiring requires tools, time and skill to install and implement. Also these devices tend to be obtrusive, create too much or too little light, and still require effort and time to disable. Night lights are sometimes used in an attempt to rectify these issues. Nonetheless, even these devices are less desirable than the present invention, since they tend to hog available outlets, and for the same reason also tend to be individual devices, and thus not very effective in seeing a person through all the way to destination.
Another application of the present invention would be in providing an efficient lighting system in a tunnel or a corridor that receives no natural lighting. Often these areas are visited or traversed very sporadically; therefore constant illumination would be unnecessary and wasteful. At the same time, it would be a hassle to require visitors to engage a light switch to turn on the lights, since there is a good chance that they will not find this switch or would be apprehensive in turning something on or off in an unfamiliar place. The present invention would therefore be very effective in such a place, since it would provide an easy way to trigger a lighting system, that can stay lit only as long as necessary, and which will not require user activation and deactivation.